A contemporary wardrobe through the looking glass of savoir-faire: at the École-Militaire, in his first standalone ready-to-wear men’s show for Givenchy, Matthew M. Williams stages a meeting between present-day menswear and the Maison’s artisanal ateliers.

For Spring Summer 2023, the Creative Director identifies the archetypical garments and accessories that make up an authentic wardrobe, and amplifies them through the artisanal and technological possibilities of Parisian craftsmanship.

In a study of deconstruction through an haute couture lens, Williams investigates the societal uniforms of his native America through the refined elegance of the Maison. With its curved sole and balled heel, shoes revolve around the TK silhouette: the TK-MX runner features a mesh and synthetic leather upper and appears in white, black, silver and yellow, silver and green, and black and yellow. A new take on Givenchy’s all-knitted TK-360 sneaker, the TK-360-MID is higher than its previous iteration and manifests in monochrome colours and a reverse edition with a cage pattern.

“Menswear was, quite naturally, the way I discovered fashion. In my practice at Givenchy, my men’s collections came from an instinctive starting point. This show is a reflection of myself and the men who surround me, from my close friends to the artists who inspire my work. It’s a dialogue with the time and culture that shape the way men dress today and tomorrow: the way new generations embrace and evolve the archetypes and dress codes of the past through their own progressive outlook. It’s a thrilling evolution and the reason I have chosen this moment to stage a stand-alone men’s show for Givenchy.” — Matthew M. Williams